"Shift work can be a major source of stress for police officers. In Ottawa, two-thirds of the police officers studied by McDonald (2006) said that shift work was an impediment to high-level performance. The impact of shift work on the health and well-being of works is documented. Prolonged exposure to night shifts results in an individual who is sleep deprived

Annotation: This book integrates both existing and current research on police fatigue providing police managers and officers with the knowledge to develop policies associated with shift scheduling and work-hour policies.

Abstract: Fatigue is seen as a widespread problem that has the potential of degrading police officers’ health, safety, and performance. Results from objective, subjective, and qualitative research methods point to a substantially higher level of fatigue and fatigue impairment among police patrol officers than among the general population. This book, sponsored under a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, integrates information written over the past 20 years from a series of articles, book chapters, research reports, and editorials on police fatigue in an attempt to better understand the causes and effects of police fatigue, work hours, shift work, and scheduling in order to develop policies and programs in addressing these issues. The book consists of an overview of current knowledge about fatigue, shift work and scheduling, a review of recent research on fatigue and work hours, important research questions needing answers, a review of how to minimize officer fatigue, and suggestions in the development of work-hour policies. Police managers and leaders need to develop work-hour standards and procedures to minimize fatigue and ensure alertness, develop and implement thorough fatigue management plans, establish permanent employee/manager fatigue task forces to monitor compliance with related policies and regulations, and identify new problems and opportunities for ensuring officer alertness on the job. Appendices A-E, figures, and tables

"Rather than simply being a mental state that can be willed away or overcome through motivation or discipline, fatigue is rooted in physiological mechanisms related to sleep, sleep loss, and circadian rhythms.These mechanisms are at work in flight crews no less than others who need to remain vigilant despite long duty days, transmeridien travel, and working at night when the body is programmed for sleep." (direct quote from nasa link)

Hmm. Maybe I can say, Despite long duty days and working at night when the body is programmed for sleep, these mechanisms do not go away even if the police officer needs to remain vigilant.

"Unless they [officers working rapid-rotation night shifts] conscientiously work at paying back sleep debt whenever they have the chance, workers on these shifts are more vulnerable to ...shift maladaptation syndrome.[...] which leads to insomnia ,excessive sleepiness at work and mood disorders [... and] can increase the probability of accidents [.]

Analysis of fit tests led one scientist to suggest that a common-sense response to suffering the effects of shiftwork is taking more days off.

Interim Report #1

Final Report

Section 10 of the Binder

October 1990

Prepared for: Canadian ASsociation of Chiefs of Police Research Foundation (1982) Inc.

"Prompted by the growing body of literature on the negative health and social consequences of rotating shift work, pollice began to experiment with longer shiftcycles that provided members a greater number of consecutive days off for recuperation"

The above follows the report that most police "work shifts, eight-hour shifts fit evenly into a twenty-four hour day, and until recently, most patrol officers were deployed around the clock in three eight-hour shifts"

Or maybe I'm incorrectly extrapolating. I can say that Police Patrol Studies such as this one show that what is focused on is what the community needs, and, if they do consider the needs of the police officer, it's not explicitly stated.

What does it mean:

70-30 deployment model, 60-40, 50-50, 40-60? (pgs 1124-1154)

before 2006-03-04, Alpha shift was starting 15 minutes later at 0500 hrs

Death of cyclist raises issue of police fatigue

Sean Webby

Just inside the Atherton police station, in a converted dark room with a constellation of glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, is something unique and controversial in the world of law enforcement: a bed.

It's so unusual because even though most officers work long, difficult shifts the one thing they must "never" do on-duty is nap.

But under certain circumstances, Atherton's Chief Robert Brennan allows his officers short snoozes as long as someone is out on patrol. He believes it heads off the exhaustive effects of cops juggling late-night patrols, overtime and long commutes.

In the wake of the horrific, double-fatal crash last weekend, when a Santa Clara County sheriff's deputy smashed his patrol car into a group of cyclists, Brennan says his policy is looking prescient.

"This is a sad way for it be happening," Brennan said. "It takes a cop running over somebody and suddenly everybody is saying, 'Uh- oh.'"

The issue of cop fatigue -- called "our dirty little secret we don't tell people about" by a local commander -- is now front and center in the local law enforcement community.

Deputy James Council reportedly told witnesses that he must have fallen asleep at the wheel. The 27-year-old officer, was in the middle of the second of three 121/2 hour shifts. Mary Sansen, Council's lawyer, has said fatigue may have been a factor in the March 9 Cupertino crash that killed Matt Ueterson, 29, of San Francisco, and Kristianna Gough, 30, of Oakland.

While cop fatigue is a serious issue, many cops brush it off as an occupational fact of life. To them, its silent dangers especially swirl around their "vampire shifts."

Bobby Lopez, head of the San Jose police officers' union, recalls scary times he was so tired on patrol that his heart would start racing. He also remembers chugging NyQuil when he got home to help him get to sleep.

Many South Bay cops acknowledged that they were simply expected to work through exhaustion with the help of breaks and on-duty activity.

"They don't give a crap about how tired we get," said one South Bay law enforcement member who admitted that officers sneak naps, but only when they are covered by a trusted fellow officer.

"Cop fatigue is a constant battle for every police chief," said Palo Alto Chief Lynne Johnson, whose patrols normally work 11-hour shifts. Johnson and several other chiefs said supervisors have the flexibility to allow officers to report late or go home early due to fatigue.

"I don't suddenly have a concern that at 10:30 Sunday morning my officers will fall asleep," he said. "And I don't think that deputy crossed the yellow because he was working 12 hour shifts."

Police departments perennially struggle over the length of shifts, with some believing the 12-hour ones are more manageable and cut down on overtime. Because those shifts are usually three days on, four days off, they are used as recruiting enticements.

Last year, Oakland's police union went to arbitration to prevent a switch to 12 hour shifts. The union lost.

In East Palo, Alto Chief Ron Davis was so concerned about fatigue he endorsed a privately-funded "wellness center" where cops can work out, watch TV and nap -- but not during a shift. And Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith promised that if the crash was fatigue related, she will consider alterations in training and patrol methods.

While federal statistics show that about 1,500 people die in fatigue-related accidents each year, there are no statistics available on fatigue-related crashes involving law enforcement officers. Still, the problem leads to increased citizen complaints, stress-related illnesses, depression, sick days, family problems and, of course, car accidents.

"Many police officers in the United States can't do their jobs safely or live healthy lives because of long and erratic work hours, insufficient sleep and what appears to be very high levels of sleep disorders among experienced cops," said Robert Vila, a professor of criminal justice and author of the book "Tired Cops."

Looking at Council's daytime crash, some studies may be revealing.

A 2003 study showed that accidents and injuries occurred twice as much during 12-hour shifts compared with eight-hour shifts. At least three studies say traffic incidents notably increase after the beginning of daylight-savings time.

Council's crash happened just hours after the start of daylight savings time -- costing the deputy an hour of sleep.

Contact Sean Webby at 408-920-5003 or swebby@mercurynews.com.

c2008 ANG Newspapers. Cannot be used or repurposed without prior written permission.

Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

Just inside the Atherton police station, in a converted dark room with a constellation of glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, is something unique and controversial in the world of law enforcement: a bed.

It's unusual because even though most officers work long, difficult shifts, the one thing they must never do on-duty is take a nap.

But Atherton's Chief Robert Brennan allows, under certain circumstances, his officers to take short snoozes as long as someone is out on patrol. He believes it heads off the exhaustive effects of cops juggling late-night patrols, overtime and long commutes.

In the wake of the horrific, double-fatal crash last weekend, when a Santa Clara County sheriff's deputy smashed his patrol car into a group of cyclists, Brennan says his policy is looking prescient.

"This is a sad way for it be happening," Brennan said. "It takes a cop running over somebody, and suddenly everybody is saying, 'Uh-oh.' "

The issue of cop fatigue - called "our dirty little secret we don't tell people about" by a local commander - is now front and center in the local law enforcement community.

Deputy James Council reportedly told witnesses that he must have fallen asleep at the wheel. The 27-year-old officer was in the middle of the second of three 12 1/2-hour shifts. Mary Sansen, Council's lawyer, has said fatigue may have been a factor in the March 9 Cupertino crash that killed Matt Peterson, 29, of San Francisco, and Kristianna Gough, 30, of Oakland.

Occupational hazard

While cop fatigue is a serious issue, many cops brush it off as an occupational fact of life. To them, danger swirls especially around "vampire shifts."

Bobby Lopez, head of the San Jose police officers union, recalls scary times when he was so tired on patrol that his heart would start racing. He also remembers chugging NyQuil when he got home to help him get to sleep.

Many South Bay cops acknowledge that they were simply expected to work through exhaustion with the help of breaks and on-duty activity.

"They don't give a crap about how tired we get," said one South Bay law enforcement member, who admitted that officers sneak naps - but only when they are covered by a trusted fellow officer.

"Cop fatigue is a constant battle for every police chief," said Palo Alto Chief Lynne Johnson, whose patrol officers normally work 11-hour shifts. Johnson and several other chiefs said supervisors have the flexibility to allow officers to report late or go home early due to fatigue.

"I don't suddenly have a concern that, at 10:30 Sunday morning, my officers will fall asleep," he said. "And I don't think that deputy crossed the yellow because he was working 12-hour shifts."

A perennial struggle for police departments is the length of shifts, and some believe the 12-hour shifts are more manageable and cut down on overtime. Because those shifts usually mean three days working and four days off, they are used as recruiting enticements.

Honolulu switched to a 12-hour shift and then switched back to an eight-hour shift in 2006, after concerns about fatigue.

Last year, Oakland's police union went to arbitration to prevent a switch to 12-hour shifts. The union lost.

East Palo Alto Chief Ron Davis was so concerned about fatigue that he endorsed a privately funded "wellness center" where cops can work out, watch TV and nap - but not during a shift.

Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith promised that if the Cupertino crash was fatigue-related, she will consider alterations in training and patrol methods.

Federal statistics show that about 1,500 people die in fatigue-related accidents each year, but there are no statistics that show high rates of police barreling into people due to longer shifts. Still, their fatigue leads to increased citizen complaints, stress-related illnesses, depression, sick days, family problems and, of course, car accidents.

'Erratic work hours'

"Many police officers in the United States can't do their jobs safely or live healthy lives because of long and erratic work hours,insufficient sleep and what appears to be very high levels of sleep disorders among experienced cops," said Bryan Vila, a professor of criminal justice and author of the book "Tired Cops: The Importance of Managing Police Fatigue."

Looking at Council's day-time crash, some studies may be revealing.

A 2003 study showed that accidents and injuries occurred twice as often during 12-hour shifts compared to eight-hour ones. And at least three studies say traffic incidents notably increase after spring daylight-saving time.

Council's crash happened just hours after the start of daylight-saving time - which cost the deputy an hour of sleep.

http://www.mercurynews.com/crime/ci_

Just inside the Atherton police station, in a converted dark room with a constellation of glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, is something unique and controversial in the world of law enforcement: a bed.

It's unusual because even though most officers work long, difficult shifts, the one thing they must never do on-duty is take a nap.

But Atherton's Chief Robert Brennan allows, under certain circumstances, his officers to take short snoozes as long as someone is out on patrol. He believes it heads off the exhaustive effects of cops juggling late-night patrols, overtime and long commutes.

Vila, professor of criminal justice at Washington State University, a former director of crime control and prevention research at the U.S. Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice, and a 17-year law enforcement officer.

Civilian person I talked to suggested I contact Media Relations. Email from my college email address.

Person said that RCMP has just 2 shifts:

Day shift and Night shift.

But civilian person said that VDP have more shifts. This makes it easier for the police officer to move from one shift to another.

Patrol

4 on (2 days/2night), 4off.

Days: 7am-7pm

Nights: 7pm-7am

They have early cars in the morning, when they start at 5.

Talked at 1710, june 13,

Sue (employee number 10463, Front Desk)

Speak to someone in Recuriting, Wanda Lane. In on Tuesday

jlane@abbypd.ca

http://img71./img71/8822/screenshotnoteswindowwaqi7.png

Many people want to work straight afternoons.

Some have families that are grown up.

Some sr people like the afternoon shifts. higher financial incentive for afternoon shifts.

In a Friday, June 13, 320PM chat with Constable Bruce Baker, Recruiting officer for Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police Service

Sergeant Gary Weishaar

New Westminster Police Service

555 Columbia Street, New Westminster, B.C. V3L 1B2

Ph: 604.529.2440 Fax: 604.529.2401

email: gweishaar@nwpolice.org

website: www.nwpolice.org

Hello JC

Unfortunately, there is very little information that I can give you.

At the West Vancouver Police Department we work a four days on Four days off schedule. We work 12 hour days starting at 0700hrs.

I understand that there is a plethora of information available that relates to shift work and I regret that I do not have the resources to find that information for you. Equally, I regret that I do not have the

resources to canvas the members of the department and then commit that to a report for you.

I trust that you will be able to research the internet to find the answers that you require.

Respectfully

Cpl Fred Harding Community Services Section.

Sgt. PHil Reid

1. Could you please state the shift schedules of Police Department

Officers?

What are the different options of work for a police officer? (e.g. What

time does a shift start and end? For how many days? How many days off?

etc)

With reference to what the shift schedule is for the officers, depends

on what section they are in.

- Patrol officers work 4 on and 4 off. 4 shifts of 12 hour per

shift. 2 days and 2 nights During the day they start at 0700 hours and

end at 1900 hours. During the night, officers start at 1900 hours and

end at 0700 hours. You will see that there is what we call a 24 hours

change over from days to nights.

- Plain cloths detectives may work a 10 hour day. This mean they

will work 4 on and 3 off. Some officers will work from Monday to

Thursday or some will work Tuesday to Friday.

- Traffic officers may work a 10 hour shift with a start time of

0600 hours. However there must be coverage in the evening and some may

work 1400 hours to 2400 hours.

However for the purpose of your assignment I will assume that you are

going to be concern with patrol.

2. How did the Police Department come to the decision of using such a

shift schedule? Was the decision based on the police budget? Or on

health reasons? Or on something else?

The decision to work 4 on and 4 off with respect to patrol came by way

of following other police departments and detachments. When our

department grew to a count where the number of officers could support

the 4 on and 4 off patrol shift, it was adopted. Why? Not because of

cost but because of life style. Police officers like their time off.

It had nothing to do with cost effectiveness. In the old days where

police officers work 5 on 2 off.....this was not popular at all.

Officers felt like they were working all the time. Our Union petition

the management of the department to go to the 4 on 4 off shift and it

was accepted approximately 8 years ago.

3. When was the last time the shift schedules have been changed? Why

was it changed into the present schedule?

Please refer to answer in question 2.

4. What negative effects of shift-work have been concretely seen in the

police officers in the Police Department, while working? Could you give

some examples?

Working shift work causes fatigue and stress. For example if you are

working a night shift and you get a call at the end of the night.....say

around 0600 hours....just one hour before the end of the shift... you

can only imagine how hard it can be to function, make split second

decisions and to give your best when you are totally exhausted. The way

you handle a file at the beginning of a night shift may certainly differ

the way you handle a file at the end of the night. Files that you

handle like impaired driving, assault, murder etc may take you past your

end time which can cause undo stress for officers who need to get home

to child mind and other domestic duties.

It is hard to sleep when preparing to work for a night shift. Some

officer cannot sleep during the day prior to their first night shift.

This action causes extreme fatigue for the first night shift. After the

second night most officers may only sleep for a few hours because they

want to spend time with their families and other activities. The first

day off is usually a write off because it feel like jet lag. It may

take a whole day to recover from working nights.

Working shift work causes burn out. I have seen officers working patrol

for only a few years and then their career is over. They are

psychologically unable to handle any kind of police work after patrol.

One has to pace themselves while doing patrol.

5. What is the Police Department doing to minimize the negative effects

in the police officers, if anything?

The police department is working hard to hire more officers to reduce

the work load of officers. Having more officers to reduce the work load

reduces the stress associated to shift work.

Officers are given adjustment days to be taken at any time. Most

adjustments are taken on night shifts.

Healthy life styles are promoted and encourage by the department to

relieve stress associated to shift work. If one is healtier..one can be